Wednesday night’s Arrow climbed in the ratings for the eagerly awaited introduction of Barry Allen (Glee’s Grant Gustin), a character destined to become The Flash. In “The Scientist,” Allen was played as a police forensics assistant with a secret; a charmingly beta-male contrast to alpha-Oliver who rather effortlessly wooed geek-goddess Felicity Smoak (Emily Bett Rickards).

The episode delivered 3.2 million viewers and a 1.1 rating among adults 18-49, up a tenth of a point this week in the demo and marking the show’s most-watched episode of the season. Allen is being introduced gradually on Arrow, but The CW is also shooting a stand-alone The Flash pilot episode directed by David Nutter (who directed the pilot for Arrow, and also helmed the Game of Thrones Red Wedding episode). An up Arrow helped boost The Tomorrow People slightly, though the freshman drama was still 36 percent lower than its lead-in.

Also Wednesday: CBS’ Survivor jumped 18 percent and had its largest audience of the season, ABC’s Modern Family returned after a week off to rank as the top-rated show, NBC’s Christmas in Rockefeller Center annual special hit a seven-year high. Full chart: